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Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an American orchestra based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra can be traced back to the early 1930s during the throes of the Great Depression. The orchestra gave its first concert at William Penn High School in Harrisburg on March 19, 1931. The conductor on that occasion was Maestro George King Raudenbush, who was to become the orchestra’s first music director. By the end of 1931 the orchestra had moved its concerts to the newly-opened Forum Auditorium, part of the Capitol Complex, where it still performs to this day. The 1931-32 season included four concerts. The cost of a subscription: $2.00. The Harrisburg Symphony is governed by a 27-member Board of Directors. The current Board Chairman is William M. Murray, M.D. The Symphony's volunteer organization, the Harrisburg Symphony Society, is currently led by Patricia Ferris, President. The Society provides support through various special event fund raising activities each year. The orchestra membership consists of professional players from Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, New York, and other regions. Being able to select from such a wide variety of talent pools enables the HSO to perform at a particularly high artistic level. The HSO membership is represented by American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 269, and the group is a member of ROPA, the Regional Orchestra Players' Association. 2009-2010 Concert Season The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Stuart Malina, proudly announces its 2009-2010 performance schedule. The season titled Play On! features seven Masterworks concert weekends, four Capital Blue Cross Pops Series concert weekends, as well as several special events, including the annual "Stuart & Friends" concert and the Harrisburg Symphony Society's Fashion Show - Fashion Premiere Celebrating 80 years of Music, May 6, 2010. The Masterworks Series will feature compositions by Antonín Dvořák, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Johanas Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig von Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and Camille Saint-Saens, among others. Soloists during the season will include violinists Alexander Kerr, Augustin Hadelich, HSO principal cellist Fiona Thompson, and pianists Stuart Malina (HSO Music Director) and Daria Rabotkina. The Capital BlueCross Pops season will open on the weekend of October 24–25, 2009 with a program entitled "Fantasy & Adventure." The January 9 & 10 POPS weekend will feature several singers from New York, backed up by the HSO, singing some of the great favorites of Broadway in Broadway Rocks! A young, dynamic trio of classically trained string musicians - Time for Three - will join the HSO for the March 13 & 14 POPS concerts. The audience will be entertained by a mix of classical, country-western, gypsy, and jazz pieces. The final POPS of the season, May 1 & 2, will feature Hilary Kole and Joel Malina - and, of course, the HSO - in a tribute to the Great American Songbook. Music from the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Harold Allen, among others, will be performed. Tickets to all performances are available through www.harrisburgsymphony.org or by calling the HSO box office at 717.545.5527. The Harrisburg Symphony is proud to continue "Get Hooked on the Classics," the specially priced new subscriber program launched during the 2007-08 season. The program offers a 50% discount off the regular subscription rate to anyone who has never subscribed to the Masterworks Full Season. There are seven seating areas to choose from, presenting options for every budget. – visit www.harrisburgsymphony.org for more details. Music Directors 1931-1950: George King Raudenbush 1950-1974: Edwin McArthur 1974-1978: David Epstein 1978-1994: Larry Newland 1995-1999: Richard Westerfield 2000–Present: Stuart Malina Youth Symphony Orchestra The Harrisburg Youth Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1953 and one of the oldest youth symphonies in the country. The Youth Symphony operates under the umbrella of the Harrisburg Symphony. The current conductor of the Youth Symphony is Tara Simoncic (since 2010). The Youth Symphony performs the annual Holiday Spectacular in December, plus a number of other events in The Forum, at Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg, and at several area high schools. References *History of Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra External links *HSO official site Category:American orchestras Category:Organizations based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Category:Culture of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Category:Performing arts in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania